1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a sitting pole (or perch) for poultry that is designed in the form of a surface that forces the poultry on the pole to sit in a defined alignment.
2. The Prior Art
Sitting poles for poultry are arranged in poultry houses to provide a resting place for the poultry to perch. The poultry can walk and sit on this sitting pole, for instance while resting during the night.
Known sitting poles are designed in the form of symmetrical sections. These sections can have circular, rectangular or mushroom head-shaped cross sections in the form of hollow or solid profiles. Due to the symmetrical form of a known sitting pole, the poultry can sit on the sitting pole in two different sitting positions, in each position transversely to the longitudinal expanse of the sitting pole. This arrangement allows excretions from the poultry sitting on the sitting pole to fall on both sides of the sitting pole. Therefore, the excrement expands in a wide area and is difficult to collect. After the animals have spent time resting on the sitting pole, a large quantity of excrement is released.
For removing the droppings, a pit or device is provided for collecting the excrement. For example, a conveyor belt is arranged below the sitting pole to catch the droppings falling from the poultry on the sitting pole. The drawback resulting from the wide area in which the droppings are collected is that not all droppings are collected by the device.
Part of the excrement, drops past the conveyor belt, and falls, for example on the floor of the housing within a zone that is littered down for the poultry. This poses a drawback because excessive amounts of droppings deposited within this area may cause health problems for the animals as well as for humans working in the poultry house. For example, inadequate drying of the droppings leads to an increased production and release of ammonia that when inhaled, causes damage to animals and humans. In addition, ammonia has an unpleasant odor, so when air is released from the interior of the poultry house and discharged into the environment, people living within the vicinity of the poultry house are annoyed by such exhaust. Furthermore, this can cause an increase in infection and hygiene risks.
Therefore, the droppings not collected by the provided device have to be removed from the poultry house at additional expenditure.
An object of the present invention is to provide a sitting pole of the type specified above which permits a nearly complete removal of the droppings by the device for collecting the excrement.
This is accomplished by providing a sitting pole designed approximately straight and having a sloped plane, forcing a defined alignment of the poultry perching on the sitting pole. This inclined plane extends at an angle in relation to a horizontal line, whereby the sitting pole is aligned so that the inclined plane is located on its top side.
This arrangement is advantageous because the inclined plane of the sitting pole effects the alignment of the poultry on the sitting pole. In this alignment, the animals are sitting in a direction that is perceived by the animals as a pleasant resting position, whereas in the prior construction, the animals are not comfortable. For longer periods of rest, the animal assumes a position in which it can place its chest on the sitting pole. Thus, the animals will perch in an alignment by which each animal can place its chest sloping downwards. This leads to the animals sitting on the same sitting pole, particularly one next to the other, aligned in the same direction. Therefore, all the droppings are located on one side with respect to the sitting pole. It has been found that the animals perching on the sitting pole in the other direction will turn after a short time by 180 degrees.
Due to the alignment of the perching poultry and the arrangement of their excretions on one side, it is possible to almost completely collect the excrement from the animals with the help of a collecting device that is located on the side below the sitting pole. The excrement is completely transported away, which assures that almost no droppings can be received in the area that the poultry reside. This means that this area cannot be dirtied by excrement dropping down from the poultry perched on the sitting pole. Therefore, the drawbacks described above will not occur and the hygienic conditions within the poultry barn are substantially enhanced.
A nearly complete alignment of the poultry perching on the sitting pole can be accomplished by providing an inclined plane set to an angle of approximately 35xc2x0. This angle provides a comfortable resting position for the poultry. On the other hand, the angle ensures that poultry perching on the sitting pole in the xe2x80x9cwrongxe2x80x9d direction will slide from the sitting pole, and thereby be forced to turn their sitting alignment by 180xc2x0. This angled plane permits the animals to safely cling on to the pole with their claws and to safely support themselves on the pole only when they sit on the pole in the correct position. Animals sitting turned in the xe2x80x9cwrongxe2x80x9d direction run the risk of not finding any sustainable support on the sitting pole. Therefore, these animals will change their perching direction.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the sitting pole is in the shape of a U-shaped section in which the U-base forms the sloped plane and the base contains legs that are bent off from the base of the xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d. The sitting pole is designed in the present case in the form of an open profile. Such an open profile can be manufactured in a simple way and in large quantities, for example with the help of suitable molding methods. The material used for producing the sitting pole may be aluminum, plastic, or galvanized steel sheet. By bending off the U-legs from the base of the xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d it is possible to form at least one edge zone of the sitting pole behind which the sitting pole can be engaged by the poultry with their claws. An animal perching on the sitting pole preferably grips with its front claws beyond the upper longitudinal edge of the sloped plane, formed by the base of the xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d and engages the pole from behind and under the associated legs of the xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d. In order to avoid excessive pressure load, the bent-off zones between the base and the legs of the xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d are preferably rounded off.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the base of the xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d is formed by two sections that are set at different angles from each other. In particular, provision is made that the front, upper section of the base of the xe2x80x9cUxe2x80x9d is set at a steeper angle than the rear, lower section. This design offers the advantage that the upper section and the vertically associated, aligned U-leg jointly form a symmetrical partial profile. This section of the profile permits the poultry perching to approach, grip and cling to the pole with their claws. The upper section assures that the slope of the surface is preserved, and that the perching animals will assume the desired sitting position. The animals will engage the section from behind with their front claws, whereas the rear claw is located close to the lower longitudinal edge of the U-base, however, without gripping around the latter. However, the arrangement of the U-leg prevents the animal from sliding off if it grips the U-leg from behind before it assumes the desired perching position.
The sitting pole as defined by the invention can be arranged in a poultry house without effecting any other equipment installed in the facility. However, it is preferred that the sitting pole serves as a section of a supporting framework-like structure. Framework-like arrangements for keeping poultry are known to be designed, for example in the form of floor systems (or multi-level systems), or so-called xe2x80x9cvolariesxe2x80x9d. These floor systems offer the poultry different levels where the animals can perch, drink and eat. Sitting poles are preferably associated with the different levels of such floor systems, where such sitting poles serve at the same time as approach poles for the poultry. The poultry can move on a plurality of sitting poles arranged at different levels of the floor systems, for example of two-floor systems arranged one opposite from each other.
If the sitting pole is used in arrangements where poultry are housed, the section of the structure formed by the sitting pole is preferably arranged above a dropping collecting device that is associated with the poultry-housing arrangement. For example, the sitting pole is arranged above a belt for collecting the droppings, and may be slightly offset sideways in relation to the belt. This assures that the belt for collecting the droppings is located underneath the excrement of the animals on the sitting pole with a defined alignment, so that nearly all of the droppings are collected. This defined alignment of the animals allows the width of the conveyor belt to be relatively narrow, so that extra costs for a wider excrement collecting belt are avoided. Excrement is also prevented from dropping into the littered-down area that is located directly adjacent to an arrangement for housing poultry.
The present invention is advantageous because the perch can be arranged in a borderline area between a device or pit for collecting the droppings, and a littered down area, without the risk that larger quantities of droppings will fall into the littered down area. The sitting pole is arranged with its sloped plane such that the sloped plane extends inclined upwards from the area associated with the device for collecting the droppings. The animals sitting on the poultry pole, due to the more comfortable position, will assume a direction in which their excrement is arranged above the device collecting the droppings.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawing. It is to be understood, however, that the drawing is designed as an illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.
The drawing shows a side view of a sitting pole for poultry according to the invention arranged in a housing for poultry.